We cruise thought the beautiful canals of the Herengracht.

REGULIERSGRACHT (7 BRIDGES): monumental view - The only point in the Amsterdam canals where you can see seven bridges one after the other in a single view

Jordaan Area - Leliegracht leads to the neighborhood of ‘de Jordaan’. The Jordaan was designed as a neighborhood for Amsterdam’s growing working class. The name Jordaan refers to the French word jardin, which means garden. This is reflected in the neighborhood’s street names, which all refer to plants and trees. The houses here are significantly smaller and the streets follow a different pattern from the rest of the canal belt. This was done to cut costs: the streets follow the old ditch pattern that was already there.

Prinsengracht #263 is the former home of Anne Frank, where her world-famous diary Het Achterhuis is about. This is the place where during the Second World War the Frank family went into hiding in the back house of the building.

The Westerchurch (Westerkerk) was built between 1620-1631 in Renaissance style (see right image). The tower is famous, not only because Anne Frank wrote about it in her diary, but also because it is the highest church tower in Amsterdam with 87 meters. The imperial crown on top of the tower dates from 1637 and was a gift from Maximillian I who in 1489 granted the city the right to use the crown in the city arms in gratitude for support in times of war.

Compared to the other canals, the Prinsengracht is a relatively modest canal. Whereas Herengracht was built and designed for Amsterdam's upper class, Prinsengracht was designed as a transitional canal between the rich canal belt and the working-class neighborhoods (Jordaan) that surrounded them. This can also be seen in the houses on Prinsengracht, which are much more 'sober' compared to the other canals: less wide, and with fewer decorations than on the other canals.

The canal belt has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008. In total, there are 165 ca-nals in Amsterdam with a total length of 100 km and an average depth of 2.6 meters. A total of 1680 bridges run across them (while Venice has only 400).

AMSTEL CHURCH dates from 1668 and was originally built as a wooden, temporary church for the residents of the newly constructed canal belt. The plans for a permanent stone church were never carried out; hence the temporary church is still there after almost 350 years. Today, the church hosts cultur-al events.

MAGERE BRUG ‘SKINNY BRIDGE’ is the oldest still working, partly wooden, drawbridge in Amsterdam and a National Monument. The Skinny Bridge was built in the 17th century. At that time, the city council was a bit short of money, so they decided not to build an exorbitant bridge, but a cheap (wood instead of stone) and narrow ('skinny') one. The bridge was so narrow that people could hardly pass each other, or they had to be very skinny. The current bridge dates from 1934. Car traffic has not been allowed to cross it since 2003. The Skinny Bridge is Am-sterdam's most famous bridge, and the setting for many films (including James Bond).

HERMITAGE MUSEUM is located in the Amstelhof. The building dates from 1681 and was originally a nursing home (for 300 years). In 2007, the nursing home was converted to a museum. Some rooms were maintained and restored. The Hermitage museum is an annex of the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and shares a part of its art collection with the one in Russia. Together, the two Hermitages have the largest art collection in the world.

BLAUWBRUG ‘BLUE BRIDGE’ owes its name to its predecessor: a drawbridge like the Skinny Bridge, but with blue railings. The current Blauwbrug dates from 1883 and was inspired by the Pont Neuf in Paris. Because of the World Exhibition in Amsterdam in 1883, a new bridge with grand appearance was needed. The crowns on top of the bridge are 'imperial crowns' and are the same crowns as those on the Westerkerk and in the city arms. The crown is the emperor's crown of the holy roman empire, given by Emperor Maxi-milian I in 1489 as thanks for Amsterdam's money support. The emperor's crown is proof that even the great emperor recommended Amsterdam, and therefore very important for trade.